In order to facilitate the interactions between digital content and learning industries in Japan, Korea and Taiwan and to create more opportunities, the Institute for Information Industry (III) worked with Digital content association of Japan (DCAj) and Korea Information Promotion Agency (KIPA) and held the “4th Taiwan-Japan-Korea Forum for Digital Content Industry Development Trend and International Prospects” at Taipei International Convention Center on Sep 6 and 7 2007. Dr. Chao-Yi Chen, Director General of Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, pointed out in his speech in the opening ceremony that the Bureau would continue the efforts in developing e-Learning park, constructing corporate learning networks and improving the international competitiveness of e-Learning industry as part of national e-Learning technology program. It is hoped to energize the flourishing of Taiwan’s e-Learning industry and create a new high after the bright achievement of 341.2 billion TWD of e-Learning production last year.
In this forum, Dr. Chen suggested that, even with last year’s great achievements in e-Learning industry, the statistics showed that the categories of animated motion pictures and games accounted for just over 20 billion TWD, indicating there is still growing room for Taiwan’s e-Learning industry. In the 2nd stage improvement program for the promotion of digital content industry, the Bureau has come up with several solutions, hoping to develop Taiwan’s competitiveness in this aspect into the next level and head for international market. Dr. Ming - Hsien Chen, CEO of III said that, due to the inherent limitation on domestic market and the size of companies, the key for Taiwan’s e-Learning industries to enter international market is how to introduce advanced technologies and experience from other countries, to work with major players in the international theater and to establish a system that is based on professional division of works.
Dr. Li-Chieh Lin , Director of Digital Education Institute under III, pointed out that in the past, Taiwan’s e-learning focused mostly on the establishment of learning platforms, including production of teaching materials and process interface design, for example, the commonly seen remote teaching systems or corporate knowledge management platforms. There are benefits for learning, but there is obviously lack of continuation of “reading.” When students have any question during the learning process, they have to step out of the learning system they are using and look for help from somewhere else. This indicates that there is still a lot to do for the efficiency and completeness of digital editing discipline in Taiwan. Compared to the development of digital industries in Japan and Korea, Taiwan’s digital editing industry is still in the cradle. For example, 120 publishers in Korea gathered an equivalent of 200 million TWD to establish a company called Booktopia.com in 2000, and started developing all sorts of electronic books that can be read on various media. At present, 340,000 books have been developed in Korean. On the other hand, with the huge market in Chinese-speaking communities, Taiwan has the opportunity and capability to excel.
During the Taiwan-Japan-Korea forum, there were many companies demonstrating their new information technologies. For example, Koobe System, which is about to roll out their digital editing solution in October, was demonstrating their new Koobe reading software. Through this software, users are allowed to access interactive audio/video reading with PC, and the software itself can extend static reading by providing import and export of personal notes, recordings of introduction and sources of excerpt. In the beginning, the resources from Yuan-Liou Publishing will be brought in, and also PAPYLESS, the largest digital sales channel provider in Japan was consulted for possibility of future cooperation during the forum.
III would like to help make contact for cooperation between companies and introduction to international opportunities by executing the “E-Learning industry promotion and development plan” for IDB MOEC. Take this forum as an example. Many companies along the industrial value chain were invited, including companies of digital industries, sales channels and distributors. This helps understand the development of digital industry policies and markets in other countries, facilitate product information sharing and improve the international competitiveness of Taiwan’s digital industries.